Russia still refuses to pay €10 million in compensation to 1,500 Georgian nationals

Russia still refuses to pay €10 million in compensation to 1,500 Georgian nationals for their arrest, detention and collective expulsion from the country between 2006-2007, with the Committee of Minister of the Council of Europe on Friday once again urging the country to meet the 2019 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights and provide the funds. 

In its statement on Friday, the committee firmly reiterated that the payment of just satisfaction awarded by the court “is an unconditional obligation”.

“Delay in fulfilling this obligation deprives the individual victims of the violations from receiving compensation for the damages suffered by them,” the Committee stressed.

It again exhorted the Russian authorities to pay the just satisfaction, together with the default interest accrued, without any further delay.

The Georgian authorities say that in 2006, more than 4,600 expulsion orders were issued by Moscow against Georgians, with more  than 2,300 detained and forcibly expelled from the country shortly after. 

The move by Russia came after the Georgian United National Movement government arrested several Russian diplomats on espionage charges.